Many door closer assemblies are known which will cause a door to close once it has been opened. A number of these devices operate with a torsion spring. Generally the spring cooperates with other parts of the door closer to provide a closing force to a door. The devices are generally installed between the door and the frame in such a way that when the door opens, the tension in the spring increases. When the door is no longer being forced open, the tension in the spring releases itself, forcing the door closed.
Known door closers generally have at least two major drawbacks. First, the amount of tension which will be stored in the spring when the door is open cannot always be varied. This stored tension directly relates to the force with which the door closer will close a door. If the stored tension is not variable, the door closer will always close the door with a particular force, even if greater or lesser force is desired. In those door closers which do provide for adjustable spring tension a special wrench is generally required. If the tension needs adjusting, a person must make the effort to locate or obtain such a wrench. This can be difficult and inconvenient, as when the wrench has been misplaced or when the person who desires to make the adjustment was not the individual who purchased the door closer originally and perhaps never owned such a wrench.
Second, known door closers generally are adapted to a particular type of door. Doors can be either right or left-handed and can swing either outwardly or inwardly. A right-handed door has the hinge on the left and opens on the right; a left-handed door has the hinge on the right and opens on the left. An in-swinging door swings toward the person who is opening it. An out-swinging door swings away from the person opening it. Thus, one can have a right-handed in-swinging door, a right-handed outswinging door, a left-handed in-swinging door, or a left-handed out-swinging door.
Many door closers are suitable only for one or two of these door styles. Others can be adapted for use with more styles, but must be disassembled and reassembled in order to adapt. Obviously, this can be inconvenient, and time consuming. Further, adapting the door closer to a particular style of door can require special tools and can be messy due to parts which are oiled or greased and must be handled during the disassembly and reassembly.
The present invention provides a torsion door closer wherein the stored tension or door closing force can be easily adjusted. No special tools are needed.
The present invention can also be easily adapted to left-handed, right-handed, in-swinging, or out-swinging doors, with no special or additional parts or tools needed for adaptation to these various types of doors. Further, the adjustment can be accomplished by simply removing the body of the door closer from a mounting bracket, flipping the door closer around, and reattaching the mounting bracket. It is generally not necessary to disassemble the door closer other than removing it from the bracket. In the preferred embodiment the torsion spring remains within a housing at all times and oily or greasy parts do not have to be handled.